I am usually very good about posting a review or two a day and not having TOO much personality leakage, but since I had thought about going to BEA but getting to New York just didn't work, I decided to jump right into Armchair BEA. There are recommended posts every day; after today I'll post them underneath the book review. Today, however, for people who might not know me, here's lots of personality leakage!BEA Questions:
I am a middle school librarian and cross country coach in Westerville, Ohio, and have been blogging for eight years. I started my blog because I was reading my way through all of the hardcover fiction in my school library and needed a way to remember details of so many books!
My blog focuses primarily on middle grade literature with an emphasis on books for boys, because those seem to be more challenging to find. @msyingling, no public Facebook, msyinglingreads for Instagram.
While I read a lot of sports and spy books (which I enjoy more than I thought I would), my favorite thing to read is still middle grade romance, especially vintage. My own school experience was less than stellar, so I like to read more pleasant ones for vicarious thrills.
I ALWAYS need more books to read, so I consult Goodreads, Follett's Titlewave (especially the School Library Journal reviews), book store and publisher web sites, and Netgalley.
On Blogger, I love my "Following" feeds, although I tend to click through only if it's a book I haven't seen or if I am on a mission to visit blogs. I get the most recommendations from Charlotte's Library (especially the Sunday Round Ups), Project Mayhem , Smack Dab in the Middle and From the Mixed-Up Files (author sites with multiple contributors) , Guys Lit Wire and Boys Read Boys Rule for boy-specific recommendations, and Kiss the Book for general recommendations and to see if they have the same opinion I do!
I also like the following activities, since they are geared more toward JUST middle grade reviews:
Whew. Now, on to a book review!
Sis, Peter. The Pilot and the Little PrinceMay 27th 2014 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
ARC from Baker and Taylor
This picture book biography of Antoine de Saint-Exupery is incredibly detailed and full of information about the life of the author and what lead him to write his well beloved book. While the main text at the bottom of the pages would be easy to get through with squirmy children, this could also be read by older children who want to look through the detailed, annotated pictures.
That said, this is exactly the kind of picture book my own children disliked and which I don't quite understand. Adults who enjoy picture books will especially adore this, while my own tastes run toward things like Little Golden Books and The Baby Blue Cat and the Whole Batch of Cookies. Maybe not "literary", but things my children loved.
Hi Karen!
ReplyDeletethanks for the mention!
the problem with picture books like that one, I think, is that there is only a point to it if you have already read (and loved) The Little Price, and mostly the target audience hasn't. So like you say, for grown-ups.
I can't figure out why some of my favorite nonfiction picture books are rejected by those for whom they were designed. Maybe they were really meant for librarians and parents!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great time at Armchair BEA!
I am so glad to find a totally middle-grade devoted blog. I've just been sliding into this age designation a bit more lately and find that I really REALLY love a lot of it. I can't wait to dive into your archives.
ReplyDeleteHi Karen, this is your namesake from across the other side of the Atlantic. I'm in your BEA cheerleader group this year so I was curious about your blog.
ReplyDeleteI see the term middle grade a few times in your intro but will confess my ignorance of the USA education system here - what age group is that?
thanks for the links to other sources too.
I've seen Sis' new book listed on several blogs now. I need to check it out! Hope you have a great reading week!
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you! I think I visited your blog at least a few times before, but it's so easy to lose track of people. Good point about BEA and not getting any reading done! It's the same here! I'm preparing my post for tomorrow, but it's a long-overdue report on an author panel I attended, so it'll be good to get it done!
ReplyDeleteWell now...I need to go check out Kiss the Book. Thanks for the recommend. Had not heard of it. Happy Monday!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to keep an eye on your blog more often since you are right, finding books for boys is rather hard. I'd love to highlight a few more of them myself to grow the next generations of male readers.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds interesting! I love Sis' books and one about Saint-Exupery sounds intriguing. Thanks for the mention--I tend to like more literary PBs myself, although my kids always liked funny ones.
ReplyDeleteHadn't heard about the new Sis book. Thanks for the review..adding to my ever growing list!
ReplyDeleteHappy Reading!
Nice to meet you! Have fun with ABEA! Thanks for stopping by Take Me Away... and looking at my Armchair BEA: Intros and Literature post!
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in the Sis book because it's Sis and because it's Saint Exupery, but I doubt if I purchase it for my classroom. My shelves are so full that I have to be REALLY picky about what I buy. Good for the budget, eh? :-)
ReplyDeleteHello! Nice to meet you! Thanks for stopping by Brooke Blogs and commenting on my BEA Intro post. :) I live in Belmont County in Ohio, so we are not too far apart. =] My older daughter is going to be in 7th grade next year and she has signed up for cross country.
ReplyDeleteI liked reading more about you! Thank you for sharing!!
ReplyDeletePeter Sis is a genius. Didn't know about the new book--thank you!
ReplyDeleteHappy reading this week! :)
I really like a bit of personality leakage ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see a blog geared towards this age group! I'm going to keep you in mind.
Thanks so much for visiting me at my blog :D
Hi Karen! Nice to meet you. It's really cool that you focus on reading MG and books for boys. I'm particularly fond of YA books.
ReplyDeleteI love Charlotte's round ups too.
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you on Armchair BEA, I teach students middle grade age in New Zealand. Today we did a quick whip around to help me with the post for later in the week on middle grade reading.
ReplyDeleteThanks for mentioning the Boys Read blog!
ReplyDeleteI don't usually allow too much personality leakage on my blog either, but made an exception for Armchair BEA! I've only read a handful of middle grade books, but am reading quite a bit YA. Lovely to meet you, and hope you have fun this week!
ReplyDeleteGreat to meet you. I'm a new follower.
ReplyDeleteLove those BEA questions - thanks for the recommended links too - always good to know about fellow bibliophiles. This is a Peter Sis title that I don't know about, thanks for highlighting it.
ReplyDelete